Well, they're fully mature and grown by 5-6 months, and most are not bred after a year old, so that leaves a breeder with a pretty small window of time for breeding a particular fish :)

You will find most of us "breeders" try to get them bred by 4 months. They are easy to spawn and do not tend to do as much damage. I often can breed them a few times and still have great finnage to show.

Hmm, the ones i got came from a breeder too... The male was by himself but the female was with a sorority. He has grown since Ive had him too, I am surprised, but she doesnt look like she has grown at all.

Yeah, the Thai imports get around :P I bought one from a breeder in Georgia that originally came from Thailand, but he's never been bred and I will not be breeding him. And he's not going anywhere so he can relax!

The history of bettas being shipped all over the globe for their genes goes back to the 70's and 80's; the first breeder to start creating for halfmoons sent his breeding males to several other breeders in Europe and the U.S. Every halfmoon in existence is a descendant of that first prototype halfmoon male. The story is a fascinating read: http://bettysplendens.com/articles/p...articleid=1024